


Doors that separate past and future

by AndromedaofOthys



Series: Diamond Heart AU [4]
Category: EXO (Band), K-pop, NU'EST, SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Mob, Choi Minki | Ren Being a Tease, Crimes & Criminals, Diamond Heart AU, Implied Relationships, Minki as host, Minor Wu Yi Fan | Kris/Zhang Yi Xing | Lay, Multi, Protective Choi Seungcheol | S.Coups, Wen Jun Hui | Jun is a Sweetheart, Wu Yi Fan | Kris Being an Asshole, Xu Ming Hao | The8 is Bad at Feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-11
Updated: 2019-03-11
Packaged: 2019-11-15 18:51:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18078986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AndromedaofOthys/pseuds/AndromedaofOthys
Summary: Alternate title: Lay is oblivious, Kris flirts with Minki because of that, and JunHao have trouble communicating.Minghao's past is not the nicest one, but it's certainly not the worst one... or at least he thought so until Yixing brought his new business partner. Junhui tries to help but fails, but Seungcheol is not too worried. And Minki is just in it to flirt with a gorgeous guy because the guy's crush is too oblivious to respond.





	Doors that separate past and future

**Author's Note:**

> Oh God, my March schedule's insane... new semester, short movie I co-wrote and am currently shooting (working as light technician, acting coach and co-director of photography at the same time) and upcoming uni elections... boy, I'm busy. I got this out, and I'll post an update on Be One this week too (probs around 15th, bcs why not post the update on the same date as NU'EST's digital single release ;) ), and then I'll be dead for about two weeks until I stabilize my schedule again. Sowwy peeps!

_Rule #5: Our loyalty is to **Diamond Heart** only: every other tie we may have once had is annulled._

* * *

 

Yixing sighed, twirling a glass of fine Dom Perignon as he waited for the _ass_ to show up and seal the deal with a night out. He was waiting for nearly an hour now, and Yifan was over half an hour late.

“Being stood up by your beau, Yixing- _ge_?” Minki grinned, standing at the entrance of the private lounge, and Yixing had to swallow his saliva.

“You’re being extremely indecent tonight, Minki- _ya_.”

And wasn’t that the truth. Yixing never had a thing for the androgynous duo of _Diamond Heart_ , but even he had to admit Minki and Jeonghan could tempt the straightest of men (which he wasn’t even close to on the best of days) when they decided to doll themselves up, and Minki definitely decided to go all out tonight. Dressed in sheer white crop top, skintight black leather jeans and boots, and putting pink denim jacket on top, Minki looked like a cross between a stripper boy and high-class escort – just Yifan’s type.

“Well, you did say your newest partner likes them this way…” Minki did a slow twirl. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to steal your beau from you – I have enough boys here fawning over me.”

“He’s not my beau,” Yixing denied hotly, taking a sip of wine to mask the flush in his cheeks with alcohol. “Where did you even get that idea?”

“ _Ge_ ,” Minki smirked, switching into lightly accented Mandarin, “you asked me specifically to be the host tonight. You need a _distraction_ , not a host. That either means you have the hots for your partner, or he has the hots for you.”

Yixing opened his mouth to defend himself – honestly, the ideas Minki sometimes got were beyond ridiculous – but a light cough interrupted him. Wu Yifan had finally shown up, dressed to the nines and looking his obnoxiously gorgeous self.

“Hello, welcome to _Diamond Heart_!” Minki jumped up and latched himself on Yifan’s arm, his signature flirty smile appearing out of nowhere. “My name’s Choi Minki, and I’m your host tonight.”

“A… host?” Yifan tilted his head, blonde hair catching the strobe light and glowing like a halo around his face. “I’m sorry, I’m not familiar with that word in Korean.”

“Escort with even less chance for you to bang them, Yifan,” Yixing drawled in Mandarin, eliciting a giggle from Minki and a pout from the other Chinese man as Minki seated them next to Yixing.

“So crude, _gege_ ,” Yifan sniffed, but Yixing could tell he was faking it. “And cruel, too. How dare you get me a cutie that’s my type _and_ understands Mandarin, only to tell me I can’t touch them?”

“House rules,” Yixing shrugged, pushing the untouched glass of wine towards his new business partner. “Minki sets the limits, and he has high standards.”

“Aww, how sweet of you Yixing- _ge_ ,” Minki joined the conversation, keeping it in Mandarin. “Are you sure you haven’t drunk something weird today? You never compliment me otherwise.”

“I don’t need to enlargen your ego any more, brat,” Yixing snorted, suddenly overcome with urge to imbibe some more alcohol. “And I wasn’t complimenting you, I was insulting Yifan.”

“Like I said, cruel,” the other groaned dramatically, dragging Minki on his lap and hugging him. “Care to help me heal from the rude one’s insults… Mínqǐ? Did I say it right?”

“You did,” Minki giggled at Yifan’s pronunciation of his Hanja name, and Yixing blinked. He had no idea Minki’s Chinese name suited him so well, even better than his once-stage name Ren.

_Rising alabaster, indeed._

“You never told me your Chinese name, _Mínqǐ_ ,” Yixing was aware he sounded like a spoiled brat, but dammit, he was the one who discovered _Diamond Heart_ and its enormous potential! He should know things like this!

“Sowwy, _ge_ ,” Minki winked at him from Yifan’s embrace. “I thought you weren’t into me?”

“He’s not?!” Yifan sounded scandalized. “ _Ge_ , did you lie to me when you said you liked boys?!”

“I did not, Yifan,” Yixing groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. These two were giving him an Everest-sized headache. “He’s just not my type – too many clingy fanboys, and a steady boyfriend who is co-owner of this place. There are easier fish to catch, even if they aren’t as pretty.”

Minki laughed for the first time that night, and Yixing could not help but to smile in response. He had never thought he would see the distant Lotus Flower of _Diamond Heart_ so carefree, but here they were. He was never more glad he had accepted Junhui’s invitation five years ago to check out the place and talk with the owners.

“Oh you’re adorable,” Yifan cooed at Minki before turning to Yixing with a knowing glint in his eyes. “I see, Yixing, I see. Could you grab us another bottle, Mínqǐ? The night is still young, and I want to thoroughly enjoy Yixing and yours hospitality.”

“Easy on the alcohol!” Minki laughed again as he stood up. “Our main DJ is not going to come for at least an hour!”

“That’s why I said to bring another one – I don’t plan on moving from here sweetie,” Yifan winked at the host, and Minki blushed lightly before disappearing outside to find another bottle of wine.

“Laying it a bit heavy, Yifan?” Yixing asked casually. “He is taken, after all.”

“Tonight he isn’t,” Yifan leaned back, smirking at the other. “Besides, when your real object of affection won’t return your feelings, a pretty replacement is perfectly fine.”

“I was not aware you were pining for someone,” Yixing raised an eyebrow. If he had known that, he would’ve made harsher stipulations in their agreement. He didn’t want his partner to jeopardize the operation when his head wasn’t screwed on straight.

“Nah, I just want to fuck them out of my system,” Yifan winked. “Don’t worry, it won’t interfere.”

* * *

Minghao vibrated in his seat, and only Junhui’s hand on his shoulder stopped him from going over to Yixing- _ge_ ’s side.

“Stop it,” Junhui hissed at the younger. “Yixing- _ge_ has his own business to take care of tonight.”

“I know, but can’t I go and say hello?” Minghao complained, tugging at his mesh black shirt he had worn for the performance. In that moment, Minki came out of the booth and set off for the bar, presumably to grab more liquor.

“I’m going there,” Minghao stood up and walked over to the private booth.

He and Yixing went way back, when Minghao was a kid kicked out of home because he had gotten himself mixed with wrong crowd, and desperately tried to survive by b-boying on the streets of Anshan and taking part-time jobs for miserable pay. Yixing had spotted him wowing the crowd with the flairs and instantly took him under his wing.

 _You were dazzling, Xiao Ba_ , Yixing had told him, slipping in the ‘little Eight’ endearment, play on his once-street name The8, to drive the point home. _You smelled like a street rat, but you knew exactly what you were doing. I had to get you off the streets and under me before someone else with less nice intentions did._

Minghao had done his best to repay him for everything: taking out his rivals, spying for him… even getting then job here, in _Diamond Heart_. At first, he wasn’t exactly thrilled to be here, thinking Yixing was giving him over to glorified pimp house, but it turned out it was anything but.

_“What?” Seungcheol cracked up, wheezing in laughter. “Minghao, what had Yixing-ge told you about this place?”_

_“That he comes here to ‘relax’,” Minghao air-quoted the older man, rolling his eyes. “You don’t need to be a genius to figure out the euphemism.”_

_“Na-ah, that’s not it!” Seungcheol was still laughing. “Look, you can shadow Junnie tonight on his hosting duty – you’ll see we aren’t like that!”_

_There was a sharp double-knock on the door._

_“Come in!” Seungcheol called, and Minghao turned around to watch the newcomer._

_In retrospect, maybe he shouldn’t have – he was pretty sure he had fell for him then and there. The boy entering was **gorgeous** : Minghao had seen his type a few times, on billboards and plastered over walls in China in product and TV promos, dreamed about getting a picture with them. The quintessential pretty boy, all sharp eyes, on-point eye makeup and airy, stylish clothes that made him look like a prince – oh and his smile? His smile could melt hearts with no problem. _

_“Junnie, this is Xu Minghao. Minghao, this is Wen Junhui, but we call him Jun or Junnie,” Seungcheol introduced them. “Junnie, he’ll be your shadow tonight.”_

_“Really?” Junhui perked up and switched into Cantonese. “Are you from China too?”_

_“Anshan,” Minghao answered in Mandarin after a few seconds of deciphering the question. Yeesh, the difference between spoken Cantonese and Mandarin was ridiculous! “You?”_

_“Shenzen,” Junhui thankfully switched into Mandarin as well. “I could kiss you right now – Minki and Minhyun’s Mandarin is solid thanks to Longfei-ge, and everyone else tries their best, but I miss talking to someone who doesn’t accidentally curse all the time.”_

_Minghao blushed violently at the blunt way Junhui spoke._

_“Hey, use Korean when you’re in mixed company!” Seunghcheol stood up to thwack Junhui’s forehead. “Leave your secretive babbling when you’re alone!”_

_“Yeah, yeah,” Junhui waved the complaint away, but switched back to Korean. “C’mon Minghao, let me show you what I’m doing tonight. Jisoo hyung is the senior host tonight, so any questions I don’t have an answer to, you ask him. By the way, are you older or younger than me?”_

_“I’m ’97.”_

_“’96, so call me hyung. People here are pretty strict about it,” Junhui winked. “now, let me show the backstage…”_

“ _Ni hao, Yixing…ge…_ ” Minghao greeted, the honorific getting stuck in his throat. Next to Yixing- _ge_ sat the man he had seen once, in the distance, as he was running away from the scene of street shootout before the cops caught him and his parents kicked him out.

_Wu Yifan, the White Demon of Guangzhou._

“ _Ni hao_ , Minghao,” Yixing smiled and patted the seat next to him. “How are you? Is Junhui okay?”

“He-he’s fine,” Minghao stuttered out, not sitting down as his adrenaline levels spiked. “And I’m okay too – the job is better than I thought.”

“I told you you’d like it,” Yixing smiled. “Oh, this is -”

“White Demon of Guangzhou,” the devil himself smirked, and Minghao’s blood froze. “You look even better now, The8.”

“You met him before, Yifan?” Yixing leaned forward.

“Oh yes – he used to run with Ling gang before I shattered them,” the Demon sipped at the wine. “I wonder how you got away, my men did their best to catch everyone that night.”

“Is that even important? He’s with _Diamond Heart_ now, and I got him the job here,” Yixing interfered before Minghao could open his mouth. “Trust me, don’t go there, Yifan.”

“Is there a problem?” Mink returned with a bottle of wine, and Minghao tried to escape the situation.

“Wait a second, The8-”

“It’s Minghao here,” Minki interfered this time, placing himself on Yifan’s lap. Minghao blinked – he had never seen Minki in his host-mode before. “We leave our past when we come here, okay?”

“Okay,” Yifan finally let it go, setting a possessive hand on Minki’s thigh. “I trust you, cutie, even if I don’t trust him.”

“Good,” MInki snuggled in Yifan’s side. “I’d hate to have to call Dongho or Soonie to chuck you out for breaking the house rules.”

Minghao took it a sign to book it, running out of the lounge like a bat out of hell.

* * *

  
“I was so scared,” MInghao sighed after retelling, laying in Jun’s lap while the other boy patted his hair. “I thought he would kill me.”

“Don’t worry,” Jun shushed him, pecking him lightly on the cheek. “We have house rules for reason.”

Minghao nodded and closed his eyes, leaving Jun to worry over him. Minghao was not the only one here who had criminal past and run-ins with shadier parts of underworld: in fact, most of them did dirty stuff at one point of another. Seokmin used to _torture_ people for money, Soonyoung was a hired gun, Minki, Jun and Jeonghan stripped, Chan had nearly sold himself to sex-slave ring, Wonwoo, Jisoo and Hansol hacked for mob bosses… the list was endless. However, seeing one of their main backers dealing with a man from Mingaho’s past was worrying. They needed to clear everything up before they become unmanageable.

After a few minutes, Jun noticed Minghao dropped off into the la-la land. Slowly and quietly, Jun took his phone out and dialed Seungcheol’s number.

“ _Yes, Junnie?_ ”

“ _Hyung_ , you need to talk with Yixing- _ge_ and his new business partner. The guy apparently has some unfinished business with Minghao,” Jun relayed the information crisply. “Minki told him the house rule, but we don’t want any misunderstandings.”

“ _Of course_ ,” Seungcheol hummed on the other side of the line. “ _If they’re still here, I’ll chat with Yixing-ge now. Don’t worry Junnie, I’ll deal with it._ ”

“Thank you,” Jun said and ended the call.

“You didn’t have to,” Minghao muttered from below, and Jun startled. “Yifan’s a bastard, but when he leaves you alone, he leaves you alone.”

“That’s what they all say, Haohao,” Jun leaned over the other boy and hugged him despite the awkward position. “We aren’t getting sloppy just because Yixing- _ge_ trusts him enough to make business with him.”

“I’ll be okay,” Minghao pushed Jun off of him and sat up, slapping away Jun’s hand when he tried to reach out and hug him.

“Haohao…” Jun dropped his hand, trying not to sound too hurt. “This isn’t personal – we call in stuff like this all the time.”

“Yeah, to Dongho, Soonyoung, Mingyu or Aron, not Seungcheol!” Minghao snapped. “You literally called the boss for this – that’s not appropriate!”

“Do _not_ , Minghao,” Jun snapped as well. “I would’ve called bosses anyway later to report this – this isn’t a gang or a mob. Our bosses know us, we know them, and we take care of each other at all times!”

“And the fact you want to sleep with me has nothing to do with it?!”

“That’s so not the point, you idiot!” Jun was nearing the end of his patience with Minghao, his voice rising exponentially. He understood how favors worked on streets, but this was _Diamond Heart_ , their little haven, their _home_. Hadn’t he gotten the message yet in the last year? “I would’ve done it for anyone, it has nothing to do with the fact I -”

“Save it,” Minghao snarled, grabbing his backpack and rushing out the backstage area, and slammed the doors behind him.

Jun swayed in place, the loud _thud_ piercing his heart. Had Hao just… left them? Left him?

“Don’t,” Seungcheol’s voice and hand on shoulder stopped him from moving forward. “He’ll be back.”

“How can you know that, _hyung_?!” Jun whirled on his leader. “Unlike most of us, Hao can just go back to Yixing- _ge_ , and I’ll never see him again because he’ll take up his old job – !”

“Relax, Junnie,” Seungcheol back-hugged him, head laying on Jun’s shoulder and arms trapping Jun’s flush to his torso. “I’ve seen so many people slam that door, and they all returned. It’s when they close the doors quietly that you can start mourning them.”

“But _hyung_!” Jun still wanted to chase after Minghao – he didn’t want to part with the other on bad terms – and his body trashed in Seungcheol’s grip.

“ _Relax_ ,” Seungcheol ordered quietly, but firmly. “I _promise_ you he’ll be back. Jihoonie did it, Jeonghan did it, Minhyun and Aron did it… trust me, every single person here did it at one point or another – I was wondering when Minghao and you would snap.”

Jun froze again, before forcibly relaxing.

“Even you and Jonghyun _hyung_ , _hyung_?”

Seungcheol chuckled bitterly.

“We were the first ones who tried to walk away after Doyoon betrayed us. Trust me, we only lasted three hours.”

* * *

_In the early morning hours of the next day, Minghao knocked quietly at **Diamond Heart** ’s doors. Soonyoung opened the door, punched him in the arm and allowed him in._

_“Go to Junnie, he’s in the changing rooms,” Soonyoung whispered in Chinese boy’s ear. “He fell asleep waiting for you to come back to him.”_

_And no matter how hard he tried to ignore it, Minghao felt a flutter of warmth in his long-since frozen chest._


End file.
